Thousands of jobs will be slashed in a major bank restructure, sparking criticism of the “unhinged” decision.
ANZ announced on Tuesday that 3500 staff and 1000 contractors would be laid off by September 2026 as part of the $560 million plan.
The bank said it was part of a push to simplify operations and focus on the “priorities of customers” alongside a sweeping move to cut consultant spending.
However, experts took aim at the bank’s reasons for the mass lay-offs.
The job losses may be an ANZ risk-management exercise, Swinburne University law and corporate governance expert Helen Bird said.
“Now it’s not clear they’re doing that, but it always raises a disquiet,” she told AAP.
“Those are my principal concerns. But the reason why they arise in the first place is because of the opaque way in which the bank has expressed its reasons.”
Cutting costs signalled an attempt to lift profits where high-level executives were usually the benefactors, she argued.
“They get what we call an executive bonus for lifting the price of the stock,” Ms Bird said.
“Everything that’s done has a range of agendas. That’s possibly not the only one, but it doesn’t hurt.”
The Finance Sector Union savaged the job cuts, describing them as a betrayal.
“ANZ is one of the most profitable banks in the world, yet it is betraying 3500 workers simply to chase even bigger profits,” union national president Wendy Streets said in a statement.
“This is out of control. It’s not strategy, it’s unhinged.”
News of the cuts at ANZ was accidentally leaked in the past fortnight after some staff were informed via email to return laptops prior to being told of their removal.
ANZ said it was looking at a $560 million restructuring charge, with the final number set to be recorded in its full-year earnings update in November.
A strategy update will be provided to investors on October 13.
ANZ said the restructure would reduce duplication and have limited impact on frontline-facing customer service roles.
The bank also vowed to meet its commitments to the federal and Queensland governments following its Suncorp Bank acquisition, with roles at the state lender set to be preserved.
“We know this will be difficult news for some of our staff,” ANZ chief executive Nuno Matos said in a statement.
“While some of these changes have already commenced, we are committed to working through the impacts as quickly and safely as we can, for both care and respect for our teams affected.”
Outgoing staff will be provided support, including career advice.
“While recognising our teams will change the way we structure the bank and deliver our priorities, what won’t change is the dedication of our customer-facing bankers,” Mr Matos said.
In May, ANZ posted a half-year cash profit of $3.6 billion on the back of a five per cent jump in revenue to almost $11 billion.
ANZ shares were trading down half a percentage point at $32.775 early on Tuesday afternoon.
The bank has a market capitalisation of $98.3 billion.
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